The Kid and His Hero
by Maestus
Summary: Yes, at times Tony Stark could be an annoying egotistical ass but Bruce didn't see why that gave Steve the right to always be so harsh towards the guy. And really, how had no one else caught on to the fact that the genius all but worshipped the ground the super-soldier walked on?
1. Chapter 1

**Yup, I'm back with yet another one-shot! And I'm still loving writing from Bruce's POV... What can I say; he's awesome.**

**Anyway, I wrote this because Steve really was kind of a jerk towards Tony and, well, Science Bros stick up for each other! No slash in here (though if you want, you can pretend there is), just good old friendship (and Science Bros!) Apologies for any OCCness; I'm still kinda working on the characterisation**

**Enjoy!**

**Title: The Kid and His Hero**

**Summary: Yes, at times Tony Stark could be an annoying egotistical ass but Bruce didn't see why that gave Steve the right to always be so harsh towards the guy. And really, how had no one else caught on to the fact that the genius all but worshipped the ground the super-soldier walked on?**

**Disclaimer: My plans to steal the Avengers have thwarted once again and I have been condemned to join Loki in the losers corner... Not that I'm complaining. *sigh* Imagination is a nice place, isn't it?**

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Bruce Banner was quite a nice guy. He was willing to tolerate a lot, even if that was not really through choice and more because of the fact that his getting angry could mean a death sentence for others. But yes, he tolerated. A lot.

You got the point.

But there were, in fact, several things that Bruce _wouldn't _tolerate: idiots who knew not a thing about gamma rays but liked to pretend they did, Loki in a destructive mood (he and the other guy shared a mutual dislike there) and Tony before the first cup of coffee in the morning (hell, he and the rest of the _world _were on the same ground there). Others might then question if he didn't just mean Tony in general and he would laugh whilst silently fuming inside. No, you moderately intelligent buffoons, he did not "just mean" Tony in general; if he did, he would have said so. Just like he didn't "just mean" Loki in general because from what Thor had told him, the god was just a kid with a few ego issues and some minor psychoses who was probably just in major need of a hug from his family.

But there was one thing that made Bruce Banner's list of intolerable things that might surprise people and that was Steve Rogers or rather, Steve Rogers and his giant stinking attitude and subsequent blindness. How can you hate Steve, people would ask? He's Captain freaking America for Pete's sake! (Bruce had always wondering about that one - why was it for Pete's sake; why not for Nigel's sake or for Christina's sake? But it was detracting from the point) Yes, hating Captain America was like hating a puppy they would point out and Bruce would wait patiently for them to conclude their argument before pointing out that just because something was a puppy, didn't mean it was necessarily cute or even that nice and besides, he never said he hated Steve; he said he hated his _attitude!_ Yes, the attitude that led to Steve acting like an all around jerk whenever Tony was around.

It didn't take a genius to work out that Tony idolized Steve. You could work that out within minutes of meeting the Avengers; from the way Tony constantly looked to Steve for opinions whenever he was displaying a new piece of technology to the team, the way he hung on the super-soldier's every word, the way his eyes turned glassy every time Steve sent another derogatory comment in his direction.

"_You know you may not be a threat but you better stop pretending to be a hero,"_

"_Big man in a suit of armour; take that away and what are you?"_

"_I know guys with none of that worth 10 of you!"_

You see, once again Banner was the one noticing everything the others didn't and he could see that for all his words and bluffs, at heart Tony Stark was just another kid who wanted people to like him. And it was Steve out of all of them whose praise and acceptance he wanted the most.

"Hey Rogers," he called as the aforementioned super-soldier strode past the kitchen of what was now the Avengers tower, clearly on his way to inflict some suffering upon some innocent punch bags. "Get in here for a moment."

Looking confused, Steve did as asked, plopping himself down on a stool and staring at Bruce expectantly. "Yeah?"

"How you liking this place then?" He'd be damned if he was just jumping straight into that conversation. Let Rogers wonder.

"I guess. Some of the things here are…amazing."

"I'm glad you think so; Tony put a lot of work into it."

"Is that all Dr. Banner? I have places to be."

"Not yet, Steve, just stay right where you are. Coffee?" Bruce was enjoying this; he could almost see the cogs turning in the Captain's brain as he attempted to work out whether or not he'd done something to piss the scientist off. And the look on his face… Priceless.

"Er, orange juice?" Steve finally replied and it was still with that questioning lilt in his voice. Ah if Tony was here… If Tony was here, they wouldn't be having this conversation.

Reaching for a glass, Bruce decided just to cut right to the chase, amusing as it was to let Steve stew. "Let me tell you a story, Cap'. There was this kid and he was smart, a lot smarter than his father which was saying something because his father was pretty smart. And this kid, he _adored _superheroes; had the posters, the action figures, the lot. But out of them all, his favourite was Captain America because you see, his father had worked with Captain America and used to tell him all these fantastical stories of his heroics."

And there we go; Bruce could see the sudden realization dawn on Steve's face as he caught on to just who they were talking about here. But he wasn't finished yet.

"But the thing was that his father didn't really care for anything outside of work and the kid ended up constantly trying to impress him and the only thing that seemed to impress him was Captain America. So one day, the kid said to his father "I could be a superhero too, dad" and do you know what he was told in return? He was told that he couldn't and that he'd never be good enough. Everything after that, it's history as they say. You only need to look to the media for this kid's life story. And if he picked up a few bad habits from his father along the way – the drinking, the ego, the self destructive attitude – well, it's hardly surprising, is it?

"Now this kid's suffered, he's made mistakes, he's been bought down to almost rock bottom, but eventually he managed to do what his father never did and turned his life back around. And then, miracle of miracles, his hero reappeared and he actually got to meet him. How would that make you feel, Steve? If you finally got to meet the guy you'd spent your entire life looking up to, how would you feel?"

He didn't receive a reply, the super-soldier sitting with his head down contemplating the floor, the glass of orange juice Bruce had supplied left untouched. Satisfied that he was finally getting somewhere, the scientist pulled out a stool of his own, leaning in closer to the blonde.

"So sure, the kid acted a bit of an ass when they first met but in his defense, he was probably terrified that his hero was going to reject him as well. And guess what? He had every right to be terrified because his so called hero told him the exact same thing his father had. But despite everything, this kid's still a nice guy beneath it all, even if he has the tendency to be an annoying egotistical bastard at times, and despite being told over and over to give up playing the hero, he's still willing to make sacrifices for the world. So why don't you go and talk to him? I think you'll get on well together."

A small smile playing at his lips, Bruce retrieved his now brewed coffee from the machine and left, heading in the direction of the lab, whistling. There was no sound from the kitchen; must have made an impression then. But really, he was surprised that no else had found out by now just how deep Tony's hero worship for the star spangled man ran. It was quite amazing what you could get the proclaimed genius to tell you after a bottle of scotch.

Later on, he was pleased to see Steve approach Tony in what had now become the communal living room and start, albeit rather awkwardly, a conversation which ultimately ended with Tony dragging an unresisting Steve to see his latest project, all the while jabbering away at the speed of light. Bruce grinned. Yup, Tony Stark may describe himself as a being a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist but he was really just a big kid looking to play with his hero. Kind of reminded him of another dark haired man who he'd recently pounded into the floor... Suddenly he shuddered.

Heaven forbid Tony Stark and Loki ever teamed up because the world would most likely implode from a concentration of parental/hero worship issues. Huh, maybe he could have a word with Thor about everybody's favourite wanna-be world ruler, not that it would go down well. Or counseling; that was always an option…

Did Asgard even do counseling for the criminally insane?

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**Both reviews and con-crit are highly appreciated; please tell me what you think so I can work on improvements!**

***** THE NEXT CHAPTER IS A RESPONSE TO AN ANONYMOUS REVIEWER WHO MADE AN ARGUMENT THAT SEEMED TO IMPLY I HOLD SOMETHING AGAINST STEVE. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ A LONG WINDED REPLY AS TO WHY THIS IS NOT THE CASE, PLEASE DISREGARD THE NEXT CHAPTER. IF YOU ARE FINE WITH THIS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTINUE*****


	2. RESPONSE TO ANON REVIEWER

**I'm sorry, this is not another installment of this story, this is just a reply to anonymous reviewer Ippy who I cannot reply to by PM**.

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I concede that your argument is well thought out and that you have many valid points; however, **_I _** would like to point out that I am in no way "picking" on Steve as well as the fact that I have rarely seen many stories where this is done so. In fact, I quite like Steve; I believe he is quite a complex character and there is much to explore him, what with his being out of his time and all. In both the summary and in points during the story, I mention that Tony can most definitely act like a world-class jerk and am in no way saying that he is nothing but the victim in this, though I admit the story may come across as fairly biased.

However, on your points of Tony being just as harsh to Steve, I have to disagree as those few particularly comments Tony made to Steve were usually in retaliation to something Steve had had said to him, a natural human reaction. For example, the scene where Steve tells Tony to "stop pretending he is a hero" and Tony responds that everything Steve is "came out of a bottle".

One of your other points is that Steve only knows so much about Tony as is available in the public files; don't you think that might bias his view on the man? You're saying that Tony may be biased to Steve on account of the fact that because of him, he never truly had a father, but it is just as likely that Steve will be biased to Tony after reading his files because, let's face it, Tony's files aren't exactly going to paint him a good light, not with his track record. If you had to base your opinion of Tony Stark only from what you could find in public knowledge, i.e the media and files which most likely are only going to be glorified biographies, then your opinion would most likely be biased as well.

Moving on, you mention Steve as being "orphaned by the time he was a teen" and being "poor, sickly and bullied", thus implying that somehow that lets him off for what he said. If anything, I think it makes it worse as Steve, knowing what it's like to be bullied himself, should knew better than to say things that, when it really comes down to it, are basically another form of bullying. You are also making it sound as if there was no one in Steve's life during the 40s who particularly cared about him which I think is highly unlikely. Can I mention that Tony too was orphaned and from what we know, his childhood was not a particularly happy one, (see Iron Man 2). What's more, it is entirely likely that because of his IQ, he was isolated from those in his age group and indeed others as well who might resent him for what he knows. Growing up like this, is it really that surprising that he developed a personality that in all respects seems designed to keep people at a distance?

Lastly, your point about the shield. My story isn't exactly canon because there some parts I had to make up because of lack of information, i.e. about Tony's childhood, and for the purposes of this, I am going to stick to the version I used in the story. We are saying Tony grew up with this hero worship of Captain America, a man who his father would go on about a lot. As a child, this would be brilliant; wouldn't you be ecstatic if your parents shared your love and appreciation of _your _favourite superhero. But as you got older and began to realise that Captain America would always be there keeping your father from being a true father to you, don't you think that it would be quite likely your initial hero worship would turn into resentment? As a child you wouldn't be so aware of this, even as a genius, but once you were mature enough, you would realise that there is this man, this _dead _man, in your place and that you'll never be able to dethrone him. Hence the reason for Tony's disregard of the prototype shield. Besides, the videotapes and diaries of his father's that he had been going through just before that scene in the movie must have brought back memories and not all of them were good, that is almost for certain. I think he is hardly likely to show any care for something tied to the man who held his father's attention when he's remembering just what his childhood was like.

"Ah but why would the hero worship suddenly come back after meeting Steve?" someone will probably ask. In all of us, I think, there is a part of us that is still a child at heart. That is the part of us that is still afraid of the dark, the part of us that cannot help but sing along to the theme tune of our favourite childhood show. The part of us that will still be in awe when we meet the person we idolize, even if it has now become _once _idolized. Of course it is possible that some part of Tony, despite everything, still held respect and admiration for Steve! That part would only be brought to the surface upon actually meeting Steve, bringing with it all the hopes and dreams that a young child would have of meeting their idol. To then be told the same thing as you had been told by your father; that would hurt.

I am in no way saying that Steve is entirely to blame; as I said above, I love Steve. And yes, Tony is an egotistical arrogant annoying bastard; do I even need to say that? I still love him as a character though and one of my favourite pairings when reading slash is Tony/Steve. I am not a Steve hater.

One last thing – your line "Not meaning to take it out on you" contradicts itself because if you really didn't want to "take it out on me" then you wouldn't have left a review in the first place. I thank you, however, for taking the time to leave a review and make your argument and am glad that, despite your irritance with it, you still think this story is well written. I have no intention of turning this out into an all out catfight or whatever it is you want to call it nor am I saying that you cannot express your own opinion – an opinion that was very well argued unlike some; I merely thought it unfair that you could make an argument like that without I having the chance to defend my point of view.

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**To all those other readers out there thinking "Oh god, why couldn't you have just kept this private?", sorry for this but it was the only way I had of responding to the review in question. Thank you to everyone else who has taken the time to leave reviews; it means a lot.**


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